Chase
by junuca gaki
Summary: she's the bubbly optimist, he's the levelheaded cynic. now she's in danger and he's the only one who can help her. But can they survive each other?
1. unspoken challenge

Hello there! This is my very first CCS fanfic. This was supposed to be longer, but destroyed my manuscript. You owe me a meal at McDonalds, man! Don't worry, I love CCS as much as you, so it will get better. R&R please!

Disclaimer: I do not own CCS. I just manipulate them to my hearts desire (evil laugh)

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"Why her?"

This confused question came from the young man wearing green robes, standing in the middle of a dark room. He faced a raised dais seating six old men, all wearing flowing robes with the symbol of ying and yang embroidered in the front. At both ends of the dais were tall bronze cups engraved with dragons, holding burning incense, filling the gloomy chamber with the smell of sandalwood.

Even though the man in green posed the question at the men seated in the dais, his narrowed eyes were focused at the screen behind them. It showed a laughing young woman playing with kindergarten children. Although the kids called her 'sensei', her bright green eyes, curling auburn hair and cheerful smile made her look no more than a kid herself.

:"As of now, we too are at a loss as to what this young woman's use is to the organization." replied one of the old men, this one wearing black robes trimmed with gold, his long frail fingers caressing his long flowing white beard.

"But even so," the old man continued. "you must protect her or all will be lost."

"Why me?" questioned the young man.

"Do you doubt your abilities? You are the only one capable of this mission."

A pause.

"I understand. I accept." He replied coolly. With a bow to each of the elders, he left the room.

"Are you sure about this, Elder?" a woman, hidden by a curtain questioned.

Elder smiled slightly, sifted his fingers through his beard, then turned to watch the young woman on the huge screen behind him.

"Yes." he replied softly. "It is meant to be."

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The young man garbed in a black sweater and dark jeans leaning against the brick wall blended in with the throngs of people milling through the busy street perfectly. Though his posture was relaxed, his eyes were narrowed behind his dark glasses, staring intently at the woman seated next to the clear glass wall of McDonalds across the street. He watched her laugh out loud, a small cellphone glued to her right ear.

"Kinimoto Sakura, kindergarten teacher at Happy Peach Preschool, twenty-two years old." he said beneath his breath.

"He remembered her. They had been classmates in grade school for two years, when the Elders sent him on his first mission outside China. He was seated behind her during those two years; she had short hair back then. But the soft auburn hair, animated green eyes and wide, ready smile were the same, only now more refined, womanly.

The cute girl had turned into a pretty woman, he thought with a wry smile.

He pushed both hands into his back pockets, bent his right leg at the knee, then placed his foot flat on the brick wall, thinking about the other information the Elders had managed to glean about her.

Her mother, Kinimoto Nadashiko, worked as a model before she died at the young age of 27. Her father, Kinimoto Fujitaka, never married again. He worked as a history professor at the University. He was currently in Ethiopia, invited to study a rare archeological find. Her brother, Kinimoto Touya, was an airline pilot, out of the country for months at a time.

His lips twisted. She was all alone. Even her bestfriend, Daidouji Tomoyo, was out of the country, attending a seminar on Filmmaking in Paris.

He knew that the whole thing was part of the plot to kill Kinimoto Sakura.

His jaw tightened. Bastards.

Suddenly, almost as if she were attuned to his feelings, he saw Kinimoto frown mid-laugh, then turn her head to the right, directly at him.

He saw her eyes widen, then darken with apprehension. And yet, she didn't look away. She cocked her head to the side, like a little owl, as though she were trying to see through his dark façade.

With a cynical smile, he inclined his head to her in a mocking half bow. His smile widened as he saw her mouth tighten, signaling her displeasure. She raised her chin a notch, meeting his gaze head-on.

She has a stubborn chin. The unbidden discovery startled him, made him smile genuinely. He thought he was to protect a laughing smiling airhead. But that stubbornly raised chin was like a challenge.

He loved challenges. Thrived on them.

And he always won.

He nodded to her before walking slowly away.

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	2. you?

Thanks for the reviews! Yes, it is Kinomoto Thanks, DarkNightDreamer! Well, here's the next chapter! R&R: D

Disclaimer: I do not own CCS or anything else, for that matter. But I intend to rectify that lack in…say…8 years.

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"Stupid high heels."

Sakura Kinomoto said this to no one in particular as she limped painfully through the colorful corridors of Happy Peach Preschool.

Even though she looked fabulous in the sexy 3 inch heels, even though she dearly loved her best friend Tomoyo Daidouji – she hated the shoes she had given her.

Why, oh why, did she wear them today?

Sakura sighed as tiny tidbits of memory forced themselves through the suffocating fog of pain. Today was 'Monthly Meeting day' – in fact, she just came from said meeting and was now headed to the playground to collect her prodigal herd of students – and, as usual, she slept in. She woke up in panic, and when she saw that her beloved pumps had been reduced to a leather and saliva mush by her dog Kero, she had almost withered in despair.

She couldn't go to the meeting barefoot, nor could she wear her hamster slippers; and she was painfully aware of the fact that she already had two memos for tardiness to dash off to buy new shoes. In a moment of sheer desperation, she plunged through the yet-to-be-unpacked box in her Tokyo apartment, pulled out a shoebox, crammed her feet into the shoes inside and dashed out the door. It was only when she almost fell flat on her face while stepping out the train because of the throbbing pain shooting up her legs did she look down.

Sakura closed her eyes as she remembered the groan she emitted at seeing the shoes attached her feet.

The endless compliments and admiring glances she had received from people weren't enough for the pain she was enduring.

Was this really the price of beauty?

_I wonder what that guy outside McDonalds would think of these shoes…_

The unbidden thought caused Sakura to stumble. She hugged a flower painted column in an attempt to regain balance. She ordered her feet to move, but the heels were in the way. She slid sideways to the floor, landing on her rump with a bounce.

"Ouch!" she moaned, rubbing her sore behind.

With as much dignity as she could muster, she stood up, smoothed her clothes and hair, looked around her, then walked with her head held high.

_Why did that thought pop up? _Sakura thought as she felt an unexplainable blush rising.

It had been a week since that incident, yet that dark specter arrogantly leaning against the brick wall remained in her head despite all her attempts to banish him.

She wasn't attracted to him, she said to her wandering mind for the umpteenth time. She was just intrigued. That's all…

"Who wouldn't be intrigued?" she unknowingly said aloud.

Even without the dark clothes, he would have stood out. His height and posture made that sure. Even his messy chocolate hair was eye-catching.

_You love chocolates, don't you, Sakura?_

Sakura looked around, startled. When she realized that the voice came from her head, a flaming blush made her cheeks look like apples. Where had that bawdy thought come from?

But it was his gaze that kept her transfixed. That intense stare. She shivered. Why was that guy staring at her?

Sakura finally reached the playground. The instant her students saw her, they greeted her with grins and loud calls of 'Sensei!' as they immediately filed towards the classroom. She counted each little head that passed by.

"Midori, Kyoko, Hajime…hey, where's Hatoko?"

She craned her head, finally locating her errant student talking to a man concealed by a tree.

Sakura bit her lip as she walked towards them. That man could possibly harm the little girl. She had to tell him off before bad things happened.

As she neared, she saw Hatoko wildly gesturing towards the school. Sakura stepped on a dead branch signaling her approach. Hatoko's face lit up as she ran towards her, the anxiety still apparent in the little girl's face stiffening her resolve to call the cops after dismissing the interloper. She pushed Hatoko towards the school with a few encouraging words, watched her enter the building then faced the possible pervert.

The wet rag roughly placed on her nose and mouth and the arm locked under her chin made struggle impossible.

_Chloroform…_

This was Kinomoto Sakura's last thought as darkness enveloped her.

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Sakura woke up to a headache and a throbbing pain in her shoulders.

She lifted her heavy lids, flinching from the harsh light. When she became fully awake, her startled gaze flew across the room.

It was dark, damp and dirty; the harsh light coming from a lamp a few meters in front of her.

Before panic could take a firm grip on her, a scratchy voice came from the shadows.

"So, you're awake."

"Who are you?" Sakura questioned, pleased to note that her voice was steady.

"Ha ha. The question, my dear is who are _you_?"

"I'm Kinomoto Sakura. Who else should I be?"

Gunshots exploded, the loud sound making her scream. Sakura was shivering as she slowly opened her eyes, expecting to see her chest stained with blood.

"Don't sass me, girl."

Sakura realized that she was still alive. Falling plaster dust indicated that the gun was pointed upwards. Thank God.

"Please. There must be some misunderstanding." she said, trying to be respectful.

"No. No misunderstanding."

"But…"

Tell me this." the scratchy voice took on a speculative tone. "You found a little something in your houses' basement, didn't you?"

"How—how did you know?"

"No need to worry your pretty little head about that. I just invited you here to ask if we could…uhmm…_borrow _it from you."

"What?"

"I mean, what you need it for, anyway. Don't look at me like that, little angel. I'm not a bad guy. In fact, we could have come into your Dad's house, killed him, then take that little something, couldn't we?"

"No…"Sakura gasped weakly.

"No. We didn't do that. Because _you _have it, don't you?"

Sakura swallowed painfully.

"Sure, why would you give it to us? But then, your Dad…he's in Ethiopia, isn't he? A sudden uprising could crop up. Rebels in those parts are merciless, you know. Your brother's plane could crash…" the voice left the thought hanging, seeing to relish Sakura's horror.

"But…but why? It's just—"

The sound of breaking glass, masculine screams and gunshots made Sakura forget what she was going to say. The scratchy voice was screaming orders somewhere when a door opened. She tall a dark figure, concealed by the darkness; pull out a gun, point it towards the shadows, then fire.

Sakura's scream was louder than her pervious one.

When she opened her eyes, her horrified gaze falling on a pool of blood coming from the shadows made her moan weakly.

Her eyes flew up when a sound came from the door. Her savior stood there. Slowly, he walked into the room.

"You?"

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Haha! What a cliffhanger. The next chapters gonna get better, promise!


	3. farewell, dear greg

Sorry if I haven't been updating lately. I wasn't sure 'flying fox' was the correct term. If there are any corrections to this chapter, please let me know. Anyway, thanks for all the reviews! I really appreciate it. Thank you!

Disclaimer: The only thing I own right now is 10 bucks and a paperback copy of 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory'. Note that CCS is not among them.

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"You?"

Sakura gasped. She was really, truly shocked. Why was this guy here?

He stood there, framed by the doorway. He was dressed much like the first time she saw him. Bits of glass clung to his hair and black wool sweater, twinkling when hit by the light. He looked like an avenging angel; dark, yet embraced by glittering light.

He was taller than she remembered. Unlike before, he wore no dark glasses, and his heavy-lidded, startlingly amber gaze rested upon her. Despite the fact that he just shot a man, he looked calm.

"Yeah, it's me." He said as he advanced towards her. Sakura cringed when she saw the small gun nestled in his hand. He stopped.

He watched her for an endless moment, noting her horrified face and tense body. He raised an eyebrow at her; silently questioning, clearly mocking.

At any other time, Sakura would have loved to violently take that raised eyebrow down, but the shocking events of the day robbed her of her usual bravado.

"You…" Sakura cleared her throat awkwardly, trying to steady her shaking voice.

'You-you're the guy from McDonalds."

Suddenly, the mocking slash of a smile appeared.

"Yes." he replied.

"Bu-But…why? Why is this happening? Who was that guy? And…"

Sakura knew she was babbling, but it was either babble or cry. As she spoke, he resumed his approach.

"NO!" she cried.

He stopped again.

"You-you killed that man!" Sakura said shakily, her eyes focused on the gun in his hand.

"No, I didn't."

"Yes, you did!"

"No, I didn't."

"Oh, yeah? The-then where did all that b-b-blood come from!"

He shifted from foot to foot, his mouth curved mockingly. That irritating brow went up again.

"Why should you care? That man threatened to kill your family. And I'm sure you're not too ignorant not to know that he planned to kill you too. Why, Kinomoto? Why should you care?"

"Because he's a human being!" she spat out.

He looked at her with suddenly solemn eyes, the amber depths dark with swirling emotions. After a pause, he again walked towards her, this time not stopping though every step he took made her tenser. With a grace not found in most men his height, he bent down to one knee; face serious.

Sakura was drowning in that amber gaze; seeming to convey messages she could not understand. A light touch at her ankles caused her to jolt, the chair she was bound to creaking in protest at the sudden movement. She looked down; saw his deft fingers gently untying the rough bonds at her feet.

"In case you'd like to know, Kinomoto, I shot the man twice. One in the knee and one at the shoulders. Far from any organs. He'll live." he said with his head bent, concentrating on his task.

"But…there's so much blood…"

"We're in an abandoned hospital. Apparently, the staff forgot some bags of blood."

He finished untying the knots, and then helped her stand up. He had to support her, since the tight bondage prevented proper blood flow.

"Bags of blood?"

"For emergency transfusion purposes, I guess." he said with a shrug.

"So…You didn't kill him?" Sakura quietly questioned as she looked up. Even though she was tall, and the 3 inch heels made her taller, she still had to literally look up to the man.

"No, I didn't."

A brief pause.

"Thank you." Sakura said sincerely.

He looked at her oddly, his high cheekbones darkening. Suddenly he looked away.

"Idiot."

There was something in the way he said it, the way his eyes narrowed and his head was angled, that chin in proud prominence. Sakura heard a little mental click as her mind unscrambled the various scattered pieces of memory.

She gasped.

"Li Syaoran!"

Again, that irritating, arrogant smile. "So, you finally remembered."

Sakura mentally staggered. Li Syaoran? Bu-but how?

Li Syaoran was the transfer student from Hongkong, back in her elementary days. She remembered him as the grouchy boy who sat behind her, his amber eyes always watching her as though she was the reason for the wars in Iraq.

Sakura opened her mouth to question Li, but the words got stuck in her throat when loud voices echoed through the building.

She raised fearful eyes to look at the man who still held her. His eyes were narrowed towards the doorway, but he looked calm.

_Good_, Sakura thought. One of them had to be calm. She was a quivering mass of nerves.

"I knew I shouldn't have let him live." Li Syaoran muttered beneath his breath. Sakura felt like he had forgotten she was there. "Sonofabitch." he added.

Sakura gasped. Before she could stop herself, her hand flew up to give Li's mouth a sharp slap.

He looked down at her with bewildered eyes. "What was that for?"

"Don't swear." she reprimanded him.

"What?"

"Don't swear."

He looked at her for an endless second. Sakura tried but failed to shush the voice in her head that gushed over how cute Li Syaoran looked when he was clueless.

"Yeah, we'll be right out." said Li. Sakura saw a small device plugged into his ear. He immediately started dragging her out the building.

"Hurry, they requested for some back-up." he said to her while they hurriedly traversed the dark hallways of the abandoned hospital, stopping once in a while to let Li peer around corners to make sure the coast was clear. A small voice in her head told Sakura that she should be scared, being in an dark, abandoned hospital with maniac gun-weilding men after her and an ex-classmate as her only protector. Yet she felt safe and oddly at peace while Li dragged her around. She ignored another small voice telling her the reason she felt safe was because her hand was tightly enclosed in Li's firm grasp.

"We're almost there." Li said to her over his shoulder. They were rushing down a flight of rusty metal stairs.

"Wait!" Sakura gasped. Yet Li just ran faster.

"I said, wait, darn it! Li! Argh!" she yelled. The last exclamation was due to her heel catching on a stray piece of wire lying on a step, causing her to stumble and crash into Li. He turned to catch her, but his footing wasn't all that great either, for they fell hard on the concrete floor, 5 steps from where they last stood. She heard a labored _Ommph _come from Li, followed by a vile curse. This time, Sakura didn't have the heart to slap him.

"Are you okay?" Sakura asked, still nestled within Li's arms. _It's nothing personal_, Sakura argued to herself. _He's just holding me so tightly, that's all_.

Before he had a chance to reply, a door opened. Sakura saw silhouettes of men with guns. Li immediately stood up, then dragged her up the flights of stairs they had just fallen from. "Plan B," she heard him mutter. Sakura could hear the loud clunks of running feet after them. She tried to run faster, but climbing up the stairs was just too hard.

"Oh, darn it!" she exclaimed after they had climbed endless flights of stairs. She stopped, violently pulled her hand away from Li, then proceeded to pull the impractical shoes from her feet. "Sorry, Tomoyo." she muttered.

"Kinomoto! We have no time to stop!" Li yelled at her.

"Just let me get these shoes off."

Sakura heard another vile curse, before she was swept off her feet.

"What the...?" she looked up at Li, who looked angrily down at her before rushing up the stairs at top speed.

"Put me down!" she protested. "Li! I can climb up on my own! Put me down!"

He refused to listen to her. Climbing the rusty steps 3 at a time, they reached the rooftop. Sakura struggled, and Li finally put her down.

"Finally!" she said with an indignant huff. She surveyed their surroundings. They were on top of, judging from the sheer number of stairs, a very tall building and gun-touting men were after them. _Great_, she thought sarcastically. She turned to see Li inserting a thick metal tube through the handles of the rooftop door. "Now what?" she queried.

Li acted as though he hadn't heard her. She crossed her arms in irritation. Suddenly she felt a slight tickling on her hip. _My phone_, she thought. She immediately pulled it out of her pocket. A glance at the name registered on the screen made her groan. Her father. Should she answer it? Would it be too rude to ask her Dad to call back because she was on the run from maniacs who wanted to kill her family? With another groan, she immediately answered it. "Hello Dad? Yes, I'm fine. How's Ethiopia? I see--" she paused when she saw Li advancing towards her, his face grim. In one motion, he snatched her mobile phone away, threw it to the ground where it crashed into tiny electronic parts, then dragged her towards the edge of the building. Sakura was too stunned to argue.

A few feet from the destroyed remnants of her phone, Sakura snapped out of her stunned state. She planted her feet to the ground, refusing to let Li drag her further before giving him a violent piece of her mind. "How could you!" she said, managing to inject as much disgust and hatred into her voice as she could muster. "You killed him!"

"Who 'him'?" Li spat back, giving her one of his choice glares.

"Greg, that's who!"

"Who?" he asked, bewildered.

"My phone! Do you know how much I loved that phone!" Sakura sobbed indignantly. "Five years of scrimping and saving, all of that gone in just an instant! And I've only had him for six months! How could you!"

"You named you're phone?" he queried incredulously.

"Well, he may not mean much to you, but he meant a lot to me! That didn't give you the right to destroy him! My Dad was on the other line! Now he's obviously worried because he can't contact me anymore. And Touya as well!" she yelled.

Li shook his head. After he seemed to take that info and shove it aside, he dragged her once again. They now stood on the very edge. Sakura saw a thick metal rope; one end tied to a pole embedded to the ground. The darkness made it impossible to see where the other end was. She made the mistake of looking down. The height made her feel quesy. Li used this opportunity to tie various ropes on her.

"Flying fox?" she whispered with a mixture of fascination and dread. "This is how we're going to get out of here?"

She looked at Li, who was hooking more equipment on himself. Sakura heard the barricaded door being pounded on. Before she could point this out to Li, he hooked his arm around her waist then pushed with his feet. They were airborne, only a piece of rope saving them from falling into a mass of dismembered remains. Sakura screamed.

They were sliding down that rope at top speed. Sakura closed her eyes as the cold wind whipped through her hair and stung her eyes. She started to pray. Various memories flashed through her mind; her Dad walking out the door to go to work, Touya teasing her mercilessly, the children at the kindergarten. She let out a loud scream. She felt so unsure, with no ground to securely walk upon. Even Li's secure grip on her waist didn't distract her from the panic she was feeling.

As sudden as it had begun, it was over. Sakura landed on another building's rooftop, Li's arms securely around her as they rolled aroud for a few times before stopping. She sobbed. Sakura had now discovered that she hated heights.

"Are you okay?" Li asked. But she was too shaken up to reply. "Damn it to hell." Li exclaimed.

Sakura turned her head. She saw more gun-toting men waiting for them there. From Li's expression, they weren't comrades.

Li pushed her behind him, instinctively protecting her. But there were too many men. One of them grabbed her from behind, hooking his burly arm around her throat. She let out a choked cry for help.

"Let her go." Li whispered, the underlying fierceness warning their enemy that there would be hell to pay if they didn't do what he said. The man holding her stepped back. With a growl, he pushed her away. Her head cracked on the concrete wall she collided with, making her vision darken. She slid weakly down into a dizzy heap.

Sakura heard Li yell out her name. Then there were sounds of flesh meeting flesh, of masculine groans and whimpers as Li proceeded to beat the men after them into a pulp.

Sakura was too dizzy to notice. _Great_, she thought. She, Kinomoto Sakura, who had never fainted in her life, was drifting into oblivion twice in one day. This was her last thought as darkness engulfed her.

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Whew, that's a long chapter! I'm going to say sorry in advance because I think I won't be able to update soon. I have a Daa Daa Daa fic, you see. Please read it if you have time. Anyway, R&R please! I'd really appreciate it!


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